The ceremony, held at Dubai’s Burj Al-Arab Hotel, was attended by members of the royal family, ministers, diplomats, senior government officials and CEOs. Guest speakers included former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

“This is a great achievement for STC, in the current era of globalization; the GCC has a prominent role to play in the world economy. Recent years have seen many developments in the region, such as economic reforms, diversified economy, free trade agreements, real estate developments and foreign investment. People in all parts of the world believe that the region will emerge as a major economic contributor in the near future and we are proud to be part of this transformation,” STC president Saud Al-Daweesh said when accepting the award, as quoted in the Arab News.

The Economic Leader award recognizes individuals and organizations who own, manage and create successful initiatives that have significantly impacted the development of the GCC economy. Its panel of judges consists of analysts and top executives from regional and international organizations. This year, the judges unanimously selected STC as the recipient of the award.

The second largest company in the Kingdom and the GCC, STC has over 22,000 employees, 88 percent of whom are Saudi nationals, according to research carried out by Shuaa Capital.